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Nearly 40 agencies across Alaska are members of AgeNet. Members provide services for seniors in local communities and in seniors’ homes to help them maintain their independent living and improve their health and quality of life. Services include nutritious meals, adult day centers, transportation, exercise classes, in-home care, case management, and meaningful support for unpaid family caregivers. AgeNet members serve over 18,000 Older Alaskans every year. AgeNet members urge the following action during the 2021 Session of the Alaska L...
“Age Smart – Let’s Talk”, the series of forums sponsored by AARP Alaska, Older Persons Action Group and the Anchorage Senior Activity Center, returns Sept. 10, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Anchorage Senior Activity Center. This month, learn how United States Senators and Representatives offer Constituent Services for the people they represent in Congress. Casework staff located at home district offices of Congress members provide services such as contacting federal agencies for problems with a wide range of issues including health care; consume...
A new initiative from AARP contends the American Health Care Act, better known as the AHCA, will be bad for seniors, and cites specific impacts to Alaskans. The Act is headed to the U.S. Senate after passage May 4 by the House of Representatives, as a replacement to the Affordable Care Act, known also as Obamacare. “Tens of thousands of Alaskans will be adversely affected if the AHCA passes,” headlines a May 22 AARP press statement, forwarded to Senior Voice by AARP’s Alaska office. The statement was attached to a letter from AARP Execu...
Editor’s note: This analysis piece was submitted while Tom Price was in Congressional hearings for HHS Secretary confirmation. All eyes on Capitol Hill are focused on the fight over the “repeal and replacement” of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, by the new Republican-controlled Congress and the Trump administration. But don’t get confused. That’s only the warmup card. The championship round could be the battles over the future of Medicare and Medicaid. While Donald J. Trump and his administration settle in to their new j...
Health care issues are certain to be at the top of president-elect Donald Trump’s agenda when he takes office January 20. But how he handles the controversies sure to erupt around repealing and replacing Obamacare, efforts to turn Medicare into a voucher program, and the nomination of conservative Rep. Tom Price to head the Health and Human Services Department are still to play out over the next few months. Trump and congressional Republicans have made no secret of their united desire to repeal and replace President Obama’s signature hea...
With the nation sharply focusing on the Nov. 8 presidential election, the choice between Republican candidate Donald J. Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton has been all about personalities, not about policy differences. Facts have taken a back seat to flamboyance. To many, the election choice seems to be between an ethically-challenged, calculating lawyer/politician versus a drunk-uncle-style egomaniac. No surprise then, that both Trump and Clinton have unfavorable ratings above 50 percent in most polls, leaving many voters to hold...
As of July 1, about 2,100 Heating Assistance Program (HAP) participants across the state no longer qualify for assistance. Although HAP uses the same application and process for both of its programs, the Alaska Affordable Heating program (AKAHP) and Low Income Home Energy Assistance program (LIHEAP) are not the same, says HAP Coordinator Susan Marshall. “LIHEAP covers the lower income residents with incomes 150 percent or less than the federal poverty income level, and AKAHP covers higher income residents that are between 151 percent and 225 p...
Sign-up for the Affordable Care Act starts in October with the bulk of the law, known as Obamacare, taking effect starting in January 2014. For most seniors, no action is necessary as Medicare will cover most of their needs. But for those between 50 and 65 years old, and for wealthy seniors, all the talk about the Affordable Care Act is extremely confusing. So let’s try and answer some of the important questions you and your family may have here. Some of the details will be different in each state – specifically the prices of the different hea...
Editor’s note: This press statement was received on June 12, 2013. Senator Lisa Murkowski advocated today on behalf of the 6,900 living Hmong-American veterans who served in Vietnam under covert operations, testifying before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee in support of her legislation that would allow these veterans to be paid a final honor they earned: being laid to rest beside their brothers-in-arms in our national cemeteries. “Members of our Hmong community that fought under the CIA during Vietnam currently enjoy no rights as vet...
Direct-care health aide — helping the elderly bathe, dress and eat — is the fastest growing occupation in the U.S. But the labor shortage is dire. As the baby boomers age, this sector of health care faces a dangerous shortage because the work is surely not “easy street” and the pay is crummy. Aides are often bitten, kicked or cursed at by patients with dementia. Nursing homes and in-home health care agencies are struggling to find help, and about 20 percent of the workers in this field of care are more than 55 years of age and eager to retire....
Since Medicare Part D went into effect in 2006, prescription drugs have been an integral part of the Medicare benefit package. So, the question of how seniors can save additional money on medications often comes up, but so does the question of how the entire Medicare Part D program can be more cost-effective and save taxpayers money without jeopardizing enrollee benefits. Q: Will closing the Part D “doughnut hole” really save beneficiaries money? A: Many seniors may not be aware that the infamous “doughnut hole,” or gap in coverage, is closing...
If a person has had their diabetic testing supplies delivered by a local home medical supplier in the past, they need to know the rules are changing around purchasing and paying for diabetic testing supplies. As of July 1, 2013, if diabetic supplies are delivered to the beneficiary’s home by any method they would not be included as part of the covered benefit under the Medicare program, unless they are being delivered by one of the National Mail Order Program Contract Suppliers. So beneficiaries have two options: They can either have their t...
A free seminar, “Medicare and the Affordable Care Act,” will be offered Aug. 13 at the Anchorage Senior Activity Center from 1 to 3 p.m. Space is limited so RSVP by calling 770-2028....
If you are 65 or older, 70 percent physically disabled or blind, you are eligible for a fishing proxy. This means you may have someone else fish for you for most fish and shellfish, though proxy fishing for halibut is not allowed. For more information or to pick up a form, visit your local senior center or Dept. of Fish and Game office. Or visit the website www.adfg.alaska.gov. The Proxy Fishing Information Form can be downloaded, printed, then filled out, but it has to be brought in, faxed, or scanned in then e-mailed to an Alaska Fish and...
Now turning 67 years old, the first set of Baby Boomers, those born in 1946, continue to be myth-busters, according to a new study, “Healthy, Retiring Rapidly and Collecting Social Security: The MetLife Report on the Oldest Boomers.” The data, from the company’s MetLife Mature Market Institute, says the earliest Boomers aren’t necessarily “working ’til they drop,” as was predicted. More than half (52 percent) of the 1946 Boomers are now fully retired. Of those, 38 percent say, “I’m ready,” while 17 percent cite health reasons and 10 perc...
After five days in the hospital with a fractured spine, Jean Arnau was discharged and needed to transfer to a skilled nursing facility for rehabilitation. Only then did her family find out that she had never been formally admitted as an inpatient to the hospital. While the care the 84-year-old Rhode Island woman got was exactly the same, she had been classified as an outpatient under “observation” – a status that cost her thousands of dollars more than she would have paid if she had been admitted as an inpatient. The same thing happened to Lo...
ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and BP all did very well this legislative session. The rest of us? Not so great. We lost $4.5 billion to three of the richest corporations in the world, money that could have been used to educate our children, provide public safety, and support vital programs such as the Senior Benefits Program and Alaska’s Pioneer Homes. I don’t believe in sacrificing essential services for Alaskans in order to increase oil industry profits. SB 21, the Governor’s oil wealth giveaway, will cause the state to choose between runni...
Editor’s note: This Dept. of Health and Human Services press statement was received on May 9. On May 9, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced new funds to help more uninsured Americans enroll in affordable health insurance coverage made available by the Affordable Care Act. In Alaska an estimated $1.78 million is available to support 25 health centers’ enrollment efforts. Nationwide, funding of approximately $150 million will expand the efforts at community health centers to provide in-person assistance to help enr...
Alaska Community Services, Inc. disclosed that it discontinued its Senior Companion and Foster Grandparent programs as of April 30, 2013. According to Executive Director Brenda Bogowith, the agency voluntarily relinquished their federal grants to operate the programs prior to their end date due to a monitoring site visit conducted in February 2012. The findings of that site visit resulted in programmatic and compliance issues which are currently under discussion with federal funding agency officials at the Corporation for National and...
The 28th Alaska State Legislative session wrapped up on April 15 with many bills passing on to Governor Sean Parnell for signature and others that were stuck in the various committees or did not get a hearing. During the final Alaska Commission on Aging legislative teleconference, guest Speaker Rep. Cathy Munoz, R-Juneau, expressed to the group how grueling the session was. “It was physically taxing on the members,” she said. She explained that HB 4, an act relating to the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation to continue progressing tow...
Kitty the dog is a bonafide home-meal delivery alarm. The 4-year-old black furball starts wriggling before the Palmer Senior Center van loaded with lunches even rumbles down the road. “Kitty knows when he turns that corner out there,” Susie Kammermeyer said, standing in the doorway with husband Leo as their little Shih-poo munched on a treat. “She gets excited.” The couple gets meals from the Palmer senior center’s food-delivery program that serves Mat-Su Valley residents from Sutton to Meadow...
May is Older Americans Month in Alaska, a time to recognize and celebrate the contributions and achievements of older Alaskans. This tradition is based on the Older Americans Month celebration that began with President Kennedy in 1963 to honor older Americans. Alaska’s senior advisory commissions, senior centers and other senior community organizations will be hosting special activities during the month of May to honor the value that older Alaskans continue to contribute to their families and communities. The theme for the 2013 Older A...
President Barack Obama took a political gamble at the beginning of April by proposing to curb the growth of Medicare and Social Security. In upsetting his liberal political base, Obama hopes his concessions will draw rank and file Senate Republicans into a budget deal that, so far, has proven elusive. Obama released his proposed $3.778 trillion budget recently, for the fiscal year beginning in October – the first salvo in a long process full of political gamesmanship, partisan rhetoric and hopefully, ultimately, an agreement on a broad d...
In the past few weeks more than 170 house bills and 82 senate bills have been introduced to the Alaska State Legislature. Here are some bills that have been discussed on the floor recently. Medicaid payment for prescription management House Bill 134, sponsored by Mia Costello (R-Anchorage), deals with the large number of individuals in Alaska that have complex medical needs and are required to take a dozen or more medications daily. In a sponsor statement, Costello noted that these persons are often frail, elderly and experiencing a wide range...
The Anchorage Senior Citizens Advisory Commission (ASCAC) is pleased to announce the annual Kick-Off event in celebration of Older Americans Month. The Anchorage event will be held at the Anchorage Senior Activity Center on Thursday, May 2, from 10 a.m. to noon. There will be entertainment, a guest speaker, door prizes and a proclamation from Mayor Sullivan. Also on the agenda is the presentation of the Ron Hammett Award to recognize an individual whose exceptional and dedicated service have made a significant impact on the quality of life for...
